S-Class Promotion: Vance's Promotion or Excommunication?!
July 1st, Aconite Town the Heat Festival starts, the festival that starts the heat from the summer. It is also the Pantheon's S-Class Promotion trial. "Vance!" Nikolai called for this year's candidate. Vance sitting on a barstool in the Pantheon looked up from his over-large burger. "Mfhmmfhm," Vance tried to talk after having taken a large bite out of his food. Vance looked at Nikolai, confused and perplexed by the serious look on his guild masters face. "What's up Nick?" Vance asked him after swallowing the food in his mouth. "What's up Van?" Simca, Vance's younger sister asked as she walked out from behind the bar, wearing a tight, short sleeved shirt that showed off her body, namely her breasts and a pair of short shorts that emphasized her backside as well. "Stay Simca this affects you too. Vance it's the Heat Festival, I don't particularly don't do much during it. So I thought it would be good, to host the S-Class Promotions during this time. Vance Kervic, your my only candidate this year. Selina Wasureru, is one and in Magic Power your far stronger. Honestly, your the fourth strongest Mage in the guild by raw Magic Power. Do you accept the Trial? But one condition pass I'll open you to the Magic I reserve for the S-Class mages. Fail and its immediate excommunication from the guild. I have no use for failures. Not everyone can be a S-Class and that's ok. But, those rare ones that can shouldn't fail. It just proves they aren't worthy of my praise or protection. I protect the weak and praise the strong, there isn't a middle ground here. This is a make or break it, pass fail test. The chances of you failing are at 78%." Nikolai looked with a face so serious, a dragon would step back a step. Vance had a slightly grim look on his face before a grin formed, a grin that stretched ear to ear on his face. "Do you really need to ask? I fought you. Hell I fought a Wizard Saint and he scared the shit out of me, but I still fought him. So, bring it on!" Vance declared to Nikolai with a great amount of confidence. "So what do I have to do to pass?" "Um, what does this have to do with me? If it's only my brother, then how does it affect me?" Simca asked Nikolai. "Simple Simca if he fails you are my next candidate. Although the same rules apply to you. However, Vance you accepted so now fate is sealed. As they say only the gods can alter or control a person's fate. So now here is the Trial of Fate." Nikolai had one of his other guild's members use Separation Magic to separate Nikolai into two exact copies of himself. One however used his Creator's Eye to chance one of their appearances with black hair and blood ruby red eyes. The altered Nikolai spoke. "I am the haft of Nikolai that possess his darkness. The gentle one you fought was going easy on you. I may have haft his power, but I still possess slightly more Magic Power than you. Simple we fight, prove to me my light is as needed as my darkness, you pass. If you can't you fail, and one warring I don't play fair as when we are whole. Now Spiritual World: (精神, Seishinkai)." Simca, Vance, and the dark haired Nikolai were suddenly on a volcano island. "Come." Vance grinned, then threw back his head as a laugh escaped from him. "Fine by me. I'm pretty much a street fighter, so I'm not going to fight fair either." Flames emanated from Vance as his magical power rose before settling at a certain point. Vance vanished, appearing before the dark Nikolai in a slightly crouched position as Vance swung his arm upwards striking Nikolai in the groin and sending him a few feet up into the air. "And Nick, fate and gods can kiss my ass. I make my own choices. I decide, not fate." Vance told Nikolai as he charged brilliant white light into his left hand "Holy Ray" before releasing it in a scattered, shotgun-like fashion; each shot homing in on Nikolai who was still airborne. Numerous shots connected, causing a large explosion where Nikolai was at in the air. After the smoke cleared, Nikolai wasn't hurt much. "Ouch..." said sarcastically. He used telekinesis to make a barrier protecting himself. But a few shots got through, rendering his left arm not useable. " Now here is what a fight is about." He used his telekinesis to break the bones in Vance's left arm. "You hurting now?" Vance looked at his left arm and tried to move from the elbow down to his fingers to no avail; then tried to move his shoulder to his elbow. It moved with some luck, "Well, this sucks." Vance said as he shrugged off the inconvenience. "You'll have to better then than. My mom beat the hell out of me on a daily basis, and at the most inopportune of time, even one time while I was takin' a leak. That sucked." Vance said on a laugh as he remembered a fond memory. Vance released a blindingly bright, white light from his body as he was covered in a cloak of white light. From his broken left arm a hand of white light emerged from the elbow, followed by two more. "This will have to do for the moment." Vance said to himself as the three hands of light closed each of their ring and pinky fingers while pointing each of their index and middle fingers at Nikolai in the rough shape of a gun as Vance called out, "White Dragons Silver Gun, times three," as three large, bullet-like shaped beams of light were released from each of the three cloak formed hands. Each of the "bullets" flew at Nikolai at high speeds. The first shot was nullified by Nikolai's telekinetic barrier, but weakened by said blast, followed by the second shot which broke his barrier but caused no harm to him, having lost to much power in the process of breaking the barrier, and quickly followed by the third shot which completely connected with Nikolai, exploding violently on impact. Nikolai's clothes were ruined. "You haven't proven that I am as needed as my light. You are failing this test. Let me in on a little secret, in my fight against you and Shōjirō. I didn't even use the full level of power that only I have in those fights." He then telekinetically erupted the volcano and then gathered the lava and made a wave of it at Vance. "What did my original self see in you, your weak." On top of the wave of lava. He released a white release of fire at Vance. "Creator's Eye, Heavenly Voice: these flames have God Slayer magic Ethernano infused with it, but I changed the color to white, these are the white flames you can't eat." The wave of lava and white fire stream was about to hit him. "Well if I can't eat them, I'll have to dodge them for the moment." Vance said on a sigh as wings of shite light erupted from the back of his cloak of white light before they started to flap, lifting Vance up into the air and over the lava and flames. "Well what to do? If I cant eat the flames, how an I supposed to deal with them?" Vance asked himself out loud as he scratched his head, clearly confused and perplexed at the current dilemma. Vance inhaled deeply before he opened his mouth, releasing a wide beam of white light at the wave of lava below him as he calmly stated "White Dragon's Roar", causing the lava to scatter in every direction and causing the white flames to explode violently with the beam of light. "I'm not even warmed up yet, so before you write me off as weak let me hit my groove in this fight, okay?" Vance asked dark Nikolai. " Your weak." Nikolai used his telekinesis to rupture Vance's left eye's cells. Causing him to lose his left eye. "Your not even getting it. Your an idiot. Time to finish you off. Creator's Eye, Paradiso Art No.9: Blazing Earth." Blue fire came from his right hand's palm. The fire swirled around him. "One of the strongest attacks I have like Heavenly Voice it's infused with God Slayer Magic, but these fires are blue to show the hottest fire. If you don't find a way to stop them, you, this island, Simca, and I will be destroyed. The flames continue to grow. Vance's ears twitched at Nikolai's comment about Simca being destroyed. Vance charged strait at the blue flames created by Nikolai and started to devour them when he got close enough. Vance devoured every trace of the created flames, "A little spicy. If this is what a God Slayer tastes like, I might try to find on—" Vance fell to his knees and clutched his throat as he started to cough heavily. Vance forced himself to get off of his knees. Vance looked at the dark haired Nikolai and stumbled his way over to him until he stood directly in front of him. "Well, I just ate a god's power, so I guess that makes me one as well, doesn't it?" Vance grinned before he pulled his right arm back and hauled off, striking Nikolai as hard as he could forcing the punch downwards at the same time slamming Nikolai into the ground and knocking him unconscious at the same time. "I... told you... never threaten... my SISTER." Vance roared in between gasps for air. "I just kicked your ass. This is over!" "...Not quite." The dark haired Nikolai got up. "Is that all you got? I told you only a god can change a men's destiny. You are neither a man or a god. Those in between are the truly sad. Despite their great power they are still subject to gods and fate, and cannot be given a place among humans. I will not give you another chance. Creator's Eye, The Sustainer." Nikolai used blood from the wound over his left eye, and linked himself to Simca. " If I die she dies, and no magic you if she knows can dispel it. Any interference with the link will automatically kill us both. Now choice to be a human, something between, or a god." Vance stood dumbfounded, "A human, god, or in between? Well being a god would be nice, but I'm human and I like things as they are. Something in between, a human with god-like powers?" Vance said out loud, but wasn't directing his comments at anyone in particular. Vance then registered what Nikolai said about Simca. "You. will leave. HER. ALONE." Vance roared out like a true dragon, his rage erupting like a volcano. Vance felt a strange sensation running through his left forearm, it stopped and Vance was amazed that he was able to move his arm again. He then felt the same sensation in his ruptured left eye , it to stopped and he was able to see out of his eye again. Vance was confused, but he didn't let it bother him. "Human? God? In-between? Hell even a demon. What does it matter what I am, so long as I'm me, right." Vance asked the dark haired Nikolai as he made his way towards him. Vance lifted his left arm up once he stood in front of Nikolai and wiggled his fingers, "Well my arm and eye are fixed, so I guess this makes me a god. Now then, go fuse back into one person," Vance grabbed Nikolai by the throat and slammed him against a wall, a wall that wasn't there. Vance pushed Nikolai harder and harder until the volcanic island shattered like glass and himself and Simca were back in the Pantheon guild hall and there was only one Nikolai. Vance gasped and panted heavily, "Well did I pass or what?" Vance fell straight back onto the floor, holding his left thumb up in a thumbs up fashion. "Nikolai clapped his hands. "Impressive, you forced me out of the world I created in your mind. Now do you understand? You changed the course of my fate. I was only a man with a doomed fate, my dark side would have killed you and your sister. As my destiny and fate was to be like that. Only a god could have changed that fate. That is why I called my guild Pantheon, and why even more so the S-Class mages are gods that control the fates of others. To protect the weak, help the brave, and destroy our enemies. I had to make dive into the core of your being, to find that separates humans, between, and gods. I left plans to make sure, no one was hurt. You had to prove that you can change your fate but others. If you couldn't that my guild would not have helped you. If I could bring your true power, what good could you have gotten from my guild? I do apologize if my dark side said things hurtful." Still panting, Vance looked over at Nikolai and said, "No problem. Just never do that again, okay." Vance sat up and pulled himself into one of the barstools at the guilds bar, "Simca, I'm starving can you bring me two of my usual sized burgers?" "Really? You want two of them when you just ate one before all of this happened." Simca asked her brother with an exasperated sigh. "Fine. Give me a minute." Simca turned around and headed into the guild halls kitchen. "Vance you did fail at one point. You failed to recognize Simca is her own person. You aren't her father, your job is to protect her. Yes, as an older sibling it's almost in your programming. However, what are you going to do when she finds a man...or a woman?" Nikolai said while blushing slightly. " You need let her grow." Take it from me, losing a child because your stubborn is a regret you don't want." Vance looked at Nikolai with a frustrated scowl on his face which was gone as fast as it had appeared but not before Vance let out an equally as frustrated sigh, "I know you're right Nick, but she's the only family I have left, except the guild now but she's by blood. Besides-" Vance hollered to his sister Simca who was in the guild halls kitchen fixing her brother his food, "Simca, what have I always told you about getting a boyfriend?" Simca walked out of the kitchen with her slightly over-feminine swing of her hips, a swing very few women naturally had, as she set two plates, each with an over-large hamburger on them, on the bar in front of her brother. "You've always told me that my boyfriend would have to be able to kick your ass. As it happens, that guy, what was his name. Shōjirō, right? He was pretty cute and if I remember had didn't just kick your ass, he handed it to you on a platter." Simca said on a chuckle as she remembered how her brother lost his fight not to long ago. The frustrated look returned to Vance's face as he remembered what happened. Vance picked up one of his burgers and said before taking a heaping bite of it, "I didn't lose. He just lucky is all." Vance ate his food, grumbling and bitching the entire time at the memory his sister had brought back up. "So, where do go from here Nick? I mean, I'm an S-Class wizard for the guild now, right? What happens next?" Vance asked Nikolai as he wiped his mouth on a rag Simca handed him. "You can now take on S-Class jobs. But fair warring. The few S-Class job we get are very different, we get most from the Magic Council itself, normally dealing with the darkest of magic." Also, there is a room in the Pantheon, it's forbidden to all except myself. It holds something that is best left in the darkness. "If there that difficult how do any of them get done? Or are you saying that I'm the Guild Ace? That's pretty badass if you ask me," Vance questioned Nikolai followed by an air of confidence in his tone. "No there is another that is the ace and still another Mage stronger than you." Vance crossed his arms over his chest and pouted slightly, "Well that sucks. If that's the case where do I stand in ranking of the guild's S- Class?" "Well you would be third on my S-Class roster. Carlito Play, would be second, and the strongest Mage under me would be Drake Emryst. They are far stronger than you. Infact both could become Wizard Saints." Vance shuddered slightly, "Wizard Saints? Would they be as strong as Shōjirō is?" Vance asked remembering the fear that Shōjirō made him feel in their brief fight. "Can't say. The ranks change over the years. At one time someone like Jura would be counted as the 1st rank, to where he now serves as 5th. Someone like me has be called in the same class as God Serena. But I didn't start that talk so I can't say foresure." "Well if that's the case I cant wait to meet them." Vance said excitedly. "Do you have any idea when they might get here?" Vance asked Nikolai in anticipation. "Drake is on a SS-Class quest so he might not be back for the rest of the year. As for Carlito. He already came to the guild today." Vance's face lit up, "Can I fight him?" "You can try but I doubt you can win." "My pride is already hurt right now, so I'll wait until later." Vance told Nikolai. "but if he's already here can I at least meet him?" A swirling vortex appeared. Out came a beautiful man with purple hair and blue eyes came out. "I heard you wanted to see me?" It was Carlito. "Whoa, now that was cool. So your the wizard that's above me in power. You don't look to tough." Vance told the man who had just appeared. "Master I have been looking into the more Ancient Spells." Carlito completely ignored Vance, and then Nikolai spoke. " Thank you." Now Nikolai was ignoring Vance. Vance gasped, "What the hell. Don't ignore me." Vance's hair causing on fire, showing his irritation. Carlito barely noticed Vance. "Hmm, you are you? Nikolai did you let a fire ant in the guild." Nikolai's mind turned back to Vance. "No he is stronger than Selina and Pietro, and a S-Class Mage starting today." Carlito was shocked. "You made a fire ant one of the gods?!" Vance sighed, "Whatever. Normally I'd start a fight but I don't really care right now. Hey, Simca, let go, I want to check out the S-Class jobs real quick before we go home." Vance called for his sister as he made his way towards the guild's job board. "Remember Vance, Simca can't go with you on those guest. I don't allow it, only S-Class on S-Class jobs, we don't have enough members to allow co-jobs on the S-Class jobs." Vance looked stunned, "You never said that. Besides, Nick, you know that me and Simca act as a team. It's always how we've done things." "All right, however fair warning. You get her killed and don't bother coming back. This is the entire reason for this trial we did in the Spiritual World." "Don't worry Nick, Simca, unlike me is smart and knows when to pull back. That's how we operate, I act as the attacker and she acts as the support. Isn't that right Simca?" Vance thumped his sister on her shoulder with a "I'm so proud" smile on his face. Simca removed her brothers hand from her shoulder. "Yes, Van, that's right. Don't worry about me Nikolai, I'm always careful unlike stupid here." Simca poked her thumb into Vance's chest as she spoke to Nikolai. Carlito had become curious. "Nikolai you didn't tell them, about what happened to your Son-In-Law and your daughter..." Nikolai released so much Magic Power he made Vance, Simca fall to the floor and Carlito to his knees. " Only you know about that, keep it to your self Carlito. I am going into the Forbidden Room, Carlito deal with anyone that enters. I need to try to use the Ancient Spells you found and see if they will work." The moment he went into the room and closed the door, he stopped releasing his Magic Power. Vance got up, followed by helping Simca up. "What the hell was that about? You know what, never mind. We all have our secrets, right? I'm not one to pry. If he wants to tell us, then he will and if not, then he doesn't. Makes no difference to me." Vance said to Carlito. "Come on Simca, lets go check out the S-Class jobs and see if any look good." Vance said walking back over to the guilds job board. Vance stopped and turning around asked Carlito, "Although, you're the third strongest in the guild, right? If you're taken to your knees what about the guild ace?" "You mean Old Man Drake? He is powerful still can't compare to Nikolai. Drake is a founding member of the guild along with Nikolai's daughter. He told Drake what happened but it's something that still hold Nikolai a lot of pain over. You wouldn't think it, but at one time he was 1,000 times more protective of her than you are to your sister. It's common guild knowledge that she passed away on a SS-Class job. But Nikolai, Drake, and myself only know the details. I can only those things." "Well Nick knows how me and Simca operate. We've been a team since we were kids. I was six when we were left with Driae, our dragon parent, Simca was three. Mom raised us until I was fourteen, Simca was eleven when I had to do something I would rather not say. But it's just been me and Simca since. Nick found us about six months ago." Vance told Carlito a little bit about his and Simca's past. "If Nick wants to tell us what happened, that's his choice. If not, then I wont pry." Vance continued. "But, whatever. Your not as bad as I first thought. I cant say if we'll really get along but, again, whatever. Lets go Simca." Vance called to his sister as he walked out of the guild hall, his sister right behind him. Return of the Ace: Drake's Introduction Vance yawned. it had been a month since his promotion to an S-Class wizard of his guild and he had only completed the easiest of the regular S-Class jobs posted to his guild and hadn't been on another one since. "Man, I'm bored. I need to find another job to take." Vance complained. Simca was looking at their guilds job board. She plucked off a job request and handed it to her brother who was complaining. "How about this one? It's a simple protection job. All we have to do is protect some VIP or something. It's an S-Class job request because the client wants an S-Class wizard to protect them, and their offering a payout of 2.5 million jewel. That'll get us by for about two, tow and a half months, right?" Simca explained the job to her brother as he looked at the request. "I guess. It's got a nice payout, but it sounds like a snooze fest if you ask me. You know I cant stand stuff rich pricks who think their better then us." Vance continued complaining as the guild hall doors swung open. Vance's attention shot over to the guilds main doors as young man walked in. He had a red shirt on that was open in the middle, revealing a large X-shaped scar on his chest, and a pair of shorts. "Can I help you?" Vance asked the stranger. "I'm looking for Nikolai Ichor? Is he here?" The stranger asked Vance. "Um, I'm not entirely sure if Nick is here. Let me check. HEY, NICK. YOU HERE?" Vance hollered loud enough to be heard throughout the entire guild. Nikolai was on the second floor and looked over the balcony. "What is it?" He then saw Drake. "Drake your back, you finished a 10-year job in eight months? That's a new record even for you." Vance's jaw dropped, "Drake? As in Drake the guild ace Drake? You're him? You look younger than me? Carlito said that you were a founding member of the guild." Vance asked, then stated in surprised shock. "Oh, you mean like this?" Drake suddenly turned into an old man with silver grey hair and beard with round glasses and a scar running over his right eye. "Hey Nikolai, who's the kid? he's new cause I never seen him before. But there must be something to him if he's part of the guild now?" Drake asked Nikolai as he turned his attention to Vance, "Hey, kid, what kind of magic do you use? It must be special for Nick to have taken a liking to ya." Drake returned tot his former, younger appearance as quick as he turned old. "Um, I'm a Dragon Slayer. My sister is to. We were raised by the same dragon." Vance told Drake as he motioned to Simca. Surprised by this revelation, Drake asked Vance, "Dragon Slayer, and two of them at that. Who taught you your magic?" "Driae? Why?" Vance asked, clearly confused by Drake's curiosity. "Driae? Really? She didn't like humans. I wonder what changed her mind? Oh, sorry, it's just that I had met he before. How is she by the way?" Drake asked, curiosity lacing his tone. "Mom's dead." Vance said solemnly. "Oh. I'm sorry for your loss." Drake apologized. "Drake, Vance here is the newest S-Class Mage. On your Ten-Year Job, did you find anything that can help with the guild's secret?" "Sorry, I didn't get a chance to. I had to fight myself out of the assignment. Don't get me wrong, I finished my job but ended up in a little bit of trouble near the end. I ended up turning into a kid and hiding for about a week before I had to cause a riot just to get out." Drake explained what happened to Nikolai. "but in other news, the kid here's an S-Class. Where does he fall in power?" Drake asked Nikolai. "Hey, kid, what did Nikolai do to you? Did he do his spiritual world thing? Did the same thing to me and let me tell you it was a pain in my ass." Drake laughed as he remembered something from years ago. "He is below Carlito, but above Gaia. Yeah but, it took him a long time. Unlike you and Carlito who only took minutes to do. He is third in power of the S-Class but only fourth in the guild, below us the Three Great Gods. I haven't said that in a long time." "Ok, that clarifies things a bit. And me neither. I haven't heard that in years. By the way Nick, I'm starving and I need some of your magic infused food. I ended up in an underground fighting arena for about a month and took some beatings cause I couldn't use my magic and blow my cover. I ended up healing myself after the fights, but it took a lot out of me and I need a boost." Drake asked Nikolai as he rubbed his left shoulder in a mock "I'm getting old" fashion. "Hey Nick, just how long did it take the newbie to get out of your promotion trial anyways?" Drake asked as he took a seat at the guild halls bar, "Also, you got any good booze?" "Took him four hours. He isn't the smartest one in the guild." Nikolai created his eternal youth food for Drake and some booze. " Now after you eat there is another job I need to talk to you about." Drake looked at the food before stretching his mouth open and shoved half of what was sitting in front of him and swallowed, followed by downing two kegs of booze before he repeated the process again. "I'm done, but still kind of hungry. But anyways, what's this job for me? If you're asking me its got to be big." Drake asked Nikolai, his tone laced with a deadly seriousness only heard in the most dire of situations. "The Magic Council needs someone to infiltrate a dark cult. Your skills are very warranted for this job. Pay is 20 million jewels." "Twen—, twenty million!" Vance coughed as he stuttered the statement. "What's the cult? And what exactly am I looking for?" Drake asked Nikolai, all seriousness in his tone. "Let me see the request sheet?" Nikolai handed him the sheet. " Details are to be given by the Magic Council itself. That is all I know." "Uh, this is why I hate the Magic Council. They ask you to do something but never give any explanations." Drake grunted as he took the sheet from Nikolai. He looked the sheet over before crumpling it up and throwing it on the floor, "Tell the council that I'll take the job but their going to have to raise the pay to 30 million and I'm going to need some god damn info on what I'm to be doing and until I get that I'm not taking it. If they wont concede to that request tell them to send it to another guild. Also tell them that I'm taking my sorry ass to them; either they tell you and you tell me, or they send someone here to tell me. I'm not going to the Fiore branch office of the council just for them to tell me to go the edge of the continent in the opposite direction." Drake told Nikolai, anger and irritation lacing his normally cool and collected demeanor. "Drake, do what your told. I give you a lot of leeway and use my family's enormous wealth to repair when you wreck a city. Carlito will use his Arc of Kingdoms to bring you there. Good grief do you remember when you weren't the guild's strongest member under me? I was always pulling you ass out of some trouble." "Yeah, yeah Nick. Remember who was pulling your ass out of trouble every time you blew up the R&D lab when we were still working under the Magic Council. Do you have any idea how many times I said it was 'because I asked him to' and got my ass chewed out by the higher ups?" Drake retorted back to Nikolai. "But your right. I forgot about Carlito's magic. Fine I'll see what the bengay brigade wants, but if they only give me a half-assed explanation I'm telling them to kiss my ass. That's why I left working directly under the council, cause they often only half-ass answer you, if at all." Drake said with vehement disgust in his voice. Carlito using his Arc of Kingdoms Magic to teleport Drake to the Magic Council. Several hours later with the chairmen. "Drake Emryst, I requested you specifically, because a cult is developing in the Crocus capital. They are very discrete and appear to kidnapp children. Your magic is a fit, for infiltrating as it cannot be normally undone. I couldn't give Nikolai all the details, you know he would tear apart the city if someone is stealing children. This cult is using Black Arts to summon some kind of monster. That is all the information I have. The Magic Council is willing to pay you up front." "Is their any other information? Such as the time this creature strikes, or which areas it moves through the most?" Drake asked the chairman. "I will except the job but my stipulations are as follows: you will provide me with lodging and expenses. As well as any additional pay that I request up to an additional ten million jewels depending upon the danger and any other extra discoveries that I may uncover. Is this acceptable?" Drake asked as he crossed his arms over his chest, signaling his unwavering resolve on his requests. "Really? I thought children being sacrificed would get your attention? Maybe I should have given the job to Nikolai. He would have done it for free. Don't forget, Pantheon's privileges are something Nikolai gave a lot of himself to obtain. He protects all of you from the fallout, and you all abuse his kindness. Selina, Pietro, Eve, Vance, Carlito, and you are spoiled brats compared to him." He said that as he gave Drake what he demanded." Drake looked annoyed. "Don't forget chairman, that the amount of knowledge that me and Nikolai have combined could bring down the council and completely disavow you forever." Drake said without hesitation, a level of vehemence in his voice that could be cut with a knife. "And for you information, the only reason I asked for such stipulations is so that I can do this job completely right. I plan on uncovering any kind of conspiracy I can. I also plan on rooting out the entirety of this cult because the councils Rune Knights certainly cant because they're a bunch of inept fools. Besides, even if you don't like me, can you honestly say that their is a better person for this kind of job?" Drake said in a mocking tone towards the council. "But on another note, tell me where the last child was abducted, when they were taken, and give me the contact information of the families that have had their children abducted so I may start my job and hopefully prevent any more tragedy from falling." Drake asked the chairman, a note of disgust still in his voice towards the council. "Shut up, you forget if was yours and Carlito's fault that Nikolai's daughter was killed. The last child was seen at the palace and here is his information. I'll station an undercover agent at the inn you will be at." The chairman let the office for Drake to read the information. Drake read over the information that was given to him. "Carlito. Lets go." Carlito appeared next to Drake, "Where to?" Drake showed Carlito the map and pointed to the place he needed. "Right here." Carlito placed his hand on Drake's shoulder and they vanished before reappearing in the place designated on the map, "Good luck. And you really need to stop antagonizing the council." "Thanks. And shut up." Drake sneered at Carlito as he vanished as Drake began his search for the missing children.